Interview:

After many years working in advertising and raising two daughters in upstate New York, Garry McNulty now resides in Tucson, Arizona and has a lot more time to devote to writing.

Is LOVING SCARED your first script? If not, what else have you completed?

LOVING SCARED was my first screenplay. I recently rewrote it and decided to enter it in your contest. I’ve completed four other comedies, plus a novel that I wrote before the screenplays.

Why did you write LOVING SCARED? And how long did it take you to write it?

I’ve always enjoyed teen comedies. High school is a special time in life for all of us, fraught with its own set of problems that are much more interesting than the ones we face later in life. For LOVING SCARED, I gave the hero a girlfriend with a murderer for a father to really add some excitement. The first draft took most of a year to write. The rewrite went much quicker.

Describe your process; do you have a set routine, method for writing?

Unfortunately, I’m not one of those disciplined writers who will sit at his desk for a fixed number of hours come hell or high water. Writing has to be fun for me. I’ll spend days thinking about what I want to say. Suddenly, I’m so enthused with the scene or scenes in my head, I can’t wait to get it down on paper. I always write and rewrite in a notebook before I take it to the computer.

What inspires you to write?

I get a basic concept or hook in my head that excites me, a concept that pretty much ends up being my logline. From there, I begin developing my characters and, finally, what they’ll do and say.

Apart from writing, what else are you passionate about?

I’m a big Phoenix Suns basketball fan, and now that Mike D’Antoni is coaching the New York Knicks, I have a second team to root for. I like the job new coach Terry Porter is doing for the Suns, but I’ll always be grateful to Mike D’Antoni for the exciting brand of basketball he brought to Phoenix.

What influenced you to enter Movie Script Contest?

I regret not having entered some screenplay contests earlier. I’ve posted some scripts on InkTip.com, and I learned about the Movie Script Contest on their website. What I liked most about your contest is the way you divide the competition into different genres. So my comedy isn’t competing against some other writer’s inspirational drama.

Do you feel that screenwriting contests are worthwhile for writers and why?

Writing to me isn’t work, it’s fun. The hard part comes later—getting your screenplay read. That’s where screenwriting contests like yours can be helpful. As I say, I regret not having taken advantage of it sooner.

Who is your favorite screenwriter or writer and why?

Shane Black and William Goldman are two of my favorites because they know how to combine action and humor.

Any advice or tips you’d like to pass on to other writers?

Write the kind of screenplays you would like to watch on the screen. “Loving Scared” is my only teen comedy, but the other four are also comedies and include enough action and suspense to keep my interest and, hopefully, an audience’s. Let’s face it, the odds of selling a screenplay are slim, so you want to at least have fun writing it. And if your heart is in your work, it will show in the final product.

What’s next for you?

I plan to keep writing, of course, but this coming year I plan to make more of an effort to sell what I’ve already written. I’ve been really remiss about this because, frankly, it’s not much fun. I intend to concentrate on finding an agent—and entering more of my work in screenwriting contests.